Sunday, April 25, 2010

Join the Tompkins County Public Library and author Rusty Keeler for an encore workshop on creating natural play environments, Sunday, April 25, 2010 from 2:00 to 4:00 PM in the BorgWarner Community Room.

Keeler is the author of “Natural Playscapes: Creating Outdoor Play Environments for the Soul”, which chronicles, through full-color photos, the new movement in children’s outdoor play environments.

During his presentation, Keeler will show examples of community-built, natural play areas from around the world. A variety of developmentally-appropriate environments full of hills, pathways, sculpture, hidey nooks, fountains, musical elements and sand will be highlighted. The real fun will begin following Keeler’s presentation when participants will be invited to roll up their sleeves and begin planning their own natural playscapes.

This program is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Carrie Wheeler-Carmenatty at (607) 272-4557 extension 248.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

In recognition of National Poetry Month, the Tompkins County Public Library will host “The Beat Writers,” a lecture by Larry Rapant, Saturday, April 24 at 2:00 PM in the BorgWarner Community Room.

This presentation will explore the literary movement that is often credited with transforming the American psyche with respect to issues of race, politics, artistic freedom, psychedelic drug use, spirituality, homosexuality and psychological repression. Through video clips of writers giving performances and interviews, as well as exercises designed to help audiences appreciate the Beat phenomenon, Rapant will illustrate what made the Beat culture so unique.

A retired SUNY instructor, Rapant will also trace and speculate on the Beat movement’s literary ancestors— Walt Whitman, E.E. Cummings and Henry Miller---and examine the lives and work of those who popularized it, namely: William S. Burroughs, Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg. Lesser known writers and the impact of the Beat generation on present-day poets will also be discussed.

Sponsored by the New York Council for Humanities, this program is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Carrie Wheeler-Carmenatty at (607) 272-4557 extension 248.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

The Tompkins County Public Library will host County Historian Carol Kammen for a discussion of her latest book, “Tompkins County, New York, Images of Work and Play,” Thursday, April 22 from 5:00 to 6:00 PM in the BorgWarner Community Room.

Kammen, a former senior lecturer at Cornell University and longtime historian, will be joined by colleagues who contributed to the book for a slideshow and discussion about the book writing experience.

“Images of Work and Play” chronicles the everyday life of Tompkins County residents through a collection of candidly charming photographs. Gathered from organizations, public collections and personal albums, the photos selected showcase moments of activity, industry, human connection and raw emotion and bring life to the County’s long forgotten history.

This program is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Carrie Wheeler-Carmenatty at (607) 272-4557 extension 248, or visit http://tcpl.org.

The Tompkins County Public Library invites families to learn about environmentalism through music and stories during a special Earth Day Storytime, Thursday, April 22 from 3:30 to 4:30 PM in the Thaler/Howell Programming Room.

Children and their caregivers will be treated to great books, fun songs and a craft, which will highlight the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling.

This program is free and open to the public. It is best suited for children ages 4 through 8. Participants are asked to bring one empty toilet paper roll and a small amount of recycled paper---comics, magazines or leftover craft paper will work best.

For more information about this or other children’s programs at the Library, contact the Youth Services Department at (607) 272-4557 extension 275.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

The Tompkins County Public Library will host Autism Success Stories, Thursday, April 15 from 6:00 to 7:30 PM in the BorgWarner Community Room.

Designed to provide information and encouragement to individuals and families impacted by autism, this program will provide opportunities for attendees to interact with autism researchers from Cornell and Binghamton University, presentations, a forum to share autism-related success stories and a chance to learn about programs offered locally in support of autistic individuals.

This program is free and open to the public and will be facilitated by Annette Harris, logistic chair for CNY Walk Now for Autism.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

The Tompkins County Public Library announces the unveiling of its latest art exhibit, Landscape and Memory, curated by Tim Merrick, with an opening reception to be held on Thursday, April 8 from 5:00 to 7:00 PM in the Thaler/Howell Programming Room.

The second exhibit in the series, “A Year of Art at Your Library—2010,” Landscape and Memory features works that use landscape as a vehicle to explore deeper emotion. While landscapes have been used throughout art history to depict a sense of place, many artists such as Frederic Church, Winslow Homer, Georgia O’Keeffe and Alex Katz have chosen to use landscape to express a more complex emotional state.

Merrick’s exhibit brings together a collection of work including, paintings, prints and sculpture by local and regional artists that also exhibit a more profound meaning in the landscapes that are portrayed. Featured artists are: Bill Hastings, Christa Wolf, Craig Mains, Dede Hatch, Kent Loeffler, Laurel Guy, Pamela Drix, Ralph Turturro, Suzanne Onodera, and Merrick himself.

Merrick and several of the artists will be present and available to discuss their work as well as conduct tours of the exhibit during the opening reception.

Landscape and Memory will be on display through May 28. For more information, contact Sally Grubb at (607) 272-4557 extension 232 or sgrubb@tcpl.org.

This exhibit is made possible by grant support from the Brooks Family Foundation and the Community Arts Partnership of Tompkins County.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

The Tompkins County Public Library will host “Teens Write!,” a creative writing workshop for teens led by Irene Zahava, each Wednesday during the month of April from 4:00 to 5:30 PM in the Thaler/Howell Programming Room.

Irene (Zee) Zahava is the director of Emma's Writing Center and has been leading writing circles since l994. She is a former bookstore owner, the editor of numerous short story anthologies and haiku journals, and the co-publisher of 2 Turtles Press. She is also affiliated with the Durland Alternatives Library at Cornell University, a project of the CRESP Center for Transformative Action.

“Teens Write!” is best suited for tweens and teens ages 11 through 17. The program will provide a safe and supportive environment for creative writing and group sharing. There is no charge for the program; however, advanced registration is required. To register, or for more information, contact Zahava at 607- 273-4675 or zee@twcny.rr.com.

The 2010 Teens Write program is made possible by the Tompkins County Public Library Foundation through gifts from Carrie Shearer and Suzanne Spitz.